An IAF transport helicopter delivered an "exceptional" amount of humanitarian aid to members of the Druze community in Syria's Suwayda District in the southern area of the country in an overnight operation between Friday night and Saturday morning.
A second mission to deliver aid was conducted by truck in collaboration with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), which also announced that they provided aid to persecuted Christian communities in Syria as well.
The district in southern Syria is reportedly 70 kilometers from the Israeli border. This is the first time that an Israeli transport helicopter has delivered food to the Syrian Druze community that far from the country's border, according to a report by Israel's public broadcaster KAN.
A source told KAN that the aid is intended to enable the Druze to cope with the humanitarian challenges they face in Syria, and that the delivery was approved by Israel's political echelon. The aid included 1,500 food boxes for families living in extreme poverty, according to the IFCJ.
“If there is violence and persecution happening on Israel’s border, we cannot look away,” said IFCJ President and CEO Yael Eckstein. “It is our responsibility to stand with the Druze and Christian communities on our borders to provide them not only with aid to support their physical needs, but also to give them hope that they are not alone.”
Aid delivery comes after a series of assistance from Israel to Syrian Druze community
The report comes hours after five Syrian-Druze civilians evacuated for medical treatment in Israel, and were sent to Ziv Medical Center in Safed after sustaining wounds in Syria.
Early Friday morning, the IDF conducted a strike in Damascus adjacent to the area of the Palace of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, with Syria's presidency saying in response that the strike was a "dangerous escalation."
Israel had prepared more targets for attack in Syria, both military and government, in an attempt to send a message to Al-Sharra's administration not to carry out acts of violence against the Druze population, KAN reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz stated Israel would not allow any harm to happen to the Druze community, their offices announced in a joint statement.
“This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not allow forces to be sent south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community,” they said. The prime minister then instructed the IDF the day before to prepare to "defend a Druze village in southern Syria" after Syrian forces launched a security operation in the area. Last Wednesday saw the IDF striking a Syrian extremist group that was planning to attack the Druze community in As-Suweida, Netanyahu and Katz said.
On Thursday, Syrian Druze sent a plea to the international community calling for help against recent attacks on their community in the country.
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, told Netanyahu on Friday that he was grateful for Israel’s actions in support of the Druze community in the country's northeastern neighbor over the past few days.
The night before, members of Israel's Druze community protested against the violence affecting their community in Syria on Thursday night by blocking the Kabri Intersection, east of northern Israel's Nahariya.
Shir Perets and Reuters contributed to this report.